By Dave Dempsey •
February 9, 2010
A volunteer poses with the bottles and cans collected at a Massachusetts watershed cleanup.
A month after the governor of Delaware proposed dumping the state’s beverage container refund law in favor of a new tax for community recycling, in-state and national environmental groups have come out against the recommendation. Delaware is one of 11 states that has a law providing for beverage container refunds, which are strongly opposed by the beverage industry and some beverage retailers.
If you want to “green” your news reading, just go online, right? Ditch that dirty, landfill-clogging paper. Not so fast, argues Sarah Westervelt, environmental expert and activist. In a recent article on The Dead Tree Edition, Westervelt said that she was “too informed about what’s going to happen to my computer when I’m done with it” to feel good about reading Web news and gave a number of compelling reasons that newspapers are actually the greener choice.
Among her reasons for rejecting e-news, as reported by The Dead Tree Edition, the toxic materials contained in electronic devices and a complex waste cycle (including more than a dozen plastics in each), combined with not enough value in re-use to make recycling the parts non-economical. Paper, on the other hand, comes from a renewable resource, doesn’t contain the toxic materials, and is highly recyclable.
The post is a great read, and it certainly makes you think about the consequences of our wired world. (Some of the arguments that have been made against Apple’s new iPad.)
At the same time — and while I cannot disagree with Westervelt’s facts — this argument really only works if it’s an either-or proposition.
By Dave Dempsey •
February 3, 2010
As the product stewardship movement gains steam, attention is turning to the issue of unsafe disposal of residue or unwanted consumer pharmaceuticals. The widespread detection of pharmaceutical residues in public waters and fish has raised biologists’ concerns. In Minnesota, the popularity of public-sponsored take-back days and a coming legislative proposal in the 2010 session to create a network of collection facilities, funded by pharmaceutical makers, adds a new twist to the problem.
I did something a little nuts today. I have run a small niche publishing business since 2000, and I learned very quickly that when you print books on demand and sell them retail, you either lose nearly all your profit margin by buying packing boxes or you have to charge a lot more than you might be comfortable doing. My goal was to charge less for shipping than Amazon and the others, so charging full shipping cost to cover the mailers defeated the purpose. So I looked at the stacks of envelopes and boxes in the corner, waiting to go into the trash, and thought, “Recycle!”
Now, the Strong Tower Publishing titles page has a little disclaimer:
Did you know? Strong Tower Publishing recycles. While we sell directly to the public, our direct sales are relatively small, so you may find your book packed in a recycled box or with recycled paper. This allows us to protect the environment and keep our shipping prices extremely low.
This morning, however, when I went to look for a used padded envelope or box, I was completely out of them. There was an unopened bag of yellow mailing envelopes, but I hesitated. Then there it was, the empty envelope box. Perfect! So I cut along the seams, turned it inside out, and it fit perfectly around the book. A few staples, some tape, and a mailing label. Done!
Granted, it took me 15 minutes to get it together, so I’m not suggesting that companies trade in their efficiency so every piece of scrap can have a second life. It’s the premise I think that is relevant here. We too easily trade convenience for environmental responsibility.
By Dave Dempsey •
January 22, 2010
A new Minnesota stakeholder report identifies 38 solid waste reform recommendations that could dramatically reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions.
A report submitted December 31 to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) outlines 38 ways the state could achieve a 20-year reduction of 52.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions through changes in solid waste policy and practices.
Coordinated by the Minnesota Environmental Initiative (MEI), a nonprofit organization, the report contains 22 consensus recommendations from a roup of stakeholders and another 16 with majority support in the group.
By Becky Striepe •
January 20, 2010
Crop Suey has an awesome video showing how to make a record into a custom wrist cuff! Once you make sure your second hand record isn’t a rare one, you’re ready to grab your scissors, head to the kitchen, and get crafting:
By Tina Casey •
January 20, 2010
Yowzers - according to the U.S. EPA, about four billion, yes billion pounds of carpet go into the waste stream every year - much of it is used, some is new carpet left over from building construction. A lot of that carpet (and carpet backing) is made of cheap, durable polypropylene fiber, which makes up about 80% of the sales for commercial carpet.
Polypropylene, aka olefin, may be familiar to recycling addicts through its #5 plastic recycling designation, a number that can spell trouble. Until now, recyclers have been slow to adopt #5, partly due to the expense of separating it from other materials. Used polypropylene carpets on the other hand offer good potential for cost effective processing due to their sheer bulk and availability.
By Becky Striepe •
January 19, 2010
We’re committed to repurposed, eco-friendly fibers around here, and that means we want our crafts to be sustainable from the inside out!
Here are some resources for organic cotton and recycled batting that you can use in your next quilting project!
By Tina Casey •
January 15, 2010
It’s like finding money on the street: the average tire contains the same energy as seven gallons of oil, and it has a heat content up to 16% higher than coal. That’s one reason why tire recycling is starting to catch on in a big way. It’s finally starting to put a dent in the notorious tire dumps in the U.S., many which are illegal.
Large scale tire recycling mainly consists of chipping or crumbing the tire so the rubber can be used in highway surfaces, or burned to provide power for manufacturing. Whole tires are also used in civil engineering projects. But the future of tire recycling may belong to a slew of companies that are coming up with new ways to recover more valuable resources from the mountains of “black gold” that dot the U.S. landscape.
By Tina Casey •
January 14, 2010
Pitchers and catchers don’t report for spring training until February 18 but the Minnesota Twins are already getting a jump on the 2010 baseball season by installing a huge new rainwater harvesting and recycling system at the team’s new home, Target Field.
The new Rain Water Recycle System was designed by by Minneapolis-based Pentair, a global water innovator. Using a gigantic underground water storage tank the size of a freight car, the team aims to save more than two million gallons of water yearly - and that’s all part of a bigger sustainable plan for Target Field.
By Becky Striepe •
January 12, 2010
When the weather gets cold, the cold get crafting! It’s been in the teens and twenties here in Atlanta, and cozy clothes and blankets are basically all I can think about right now. You can imagine my delight when I was browsing on You Tube and came across this handy tutorial from Whitney Sews for turning old t-shirts into a reversible scarf!
